What Does Eating Disorder Treatment Look Like?
When navigating the world of eating disorder treatment, understanding what care might look like can feel overwhelming. Treatment is not one-size-fits-all. It’s tailored to each person’s medical needs, mental health, lived experience, and recovery goals.
In this blog, we’ll walk through the different levels of eating disorder treatment, discuss when outpatient care may not be safe, explain how to recognize when it’s time to seek help, and outline what support can look like at different stages of recovery. We’ll also explore the importance of a multidisciplinary treatment team and why a client-led, autonomy-centered approach is essential.
Eating Disorder Treatment Levels of Care
Eating disorder treatment exists on a continuum, designed to meet varying medical, psychological, and nutritional needs. Levels of care may include:
Outpatient Eating Disorder Treatment
Outpatient care is best suited for individuals who are medically stable and able to engage in treatment while continuing daily activities such as work, school, or family life.
Outpatient treatment typically includes:
Regular sessions with a therapist
Nutrition counseling with a dietitian
Periodic medical monitoring with a physician or primary care provider
Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP)
Intensive Outpatient Programs provide more structure than outpatient care while allowing individuals to live at home. IOP usually involves:
Structured programming several days per week
Sessions lasting three to four hours per day
Focuses on skill-building, meal support, and therapy while still allowing clients to live at home
This level of care can be helpful when outpatient support alone is not enough, but 24-hour supervision is not required.
Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHP)
Partial Hospitalization Programs offer a higher level of structure and support. PHP typically includes:
Treatment five to seven days a week
Most of the day spent in programming, either in person or virtually
Medical monitoring, therapy, and supervised meals
Evenings spent at home
PHP can serve as a bridge between outpatient care and residential treatment.
Residential Eating Disorder Treatment
Residential treatment is a live-in option for individuals who need 24-hour support in a structured environment. Residential care includes:
Around the clock supervision
Medical stabilization
Therapy and nutritional rehabilitation
Support for interrupting eating disorder behaviors
Inpatient Hospitalization
Inpatient hospitalization is reserved for individuals who are medically or psychiatrically unstable. This level of care may be necessary when there is:
Inpatient Hospitalization:
Severe malnutrition
Dangerous electrolyte imbalances
Cardiac instability
Risk of self-harm or suicide
The primary goal of inpatient care is acute stabilization. Once safety is restored, individuals often transition to another level of care for ongoing treatment.
When Outpatient Care is Not Safe
There are times when outpatient care may not be enough to ensure safety. Medical instability, such as dangerously low heart rates, severe malnutrition, or electrolyte imbalances, requires immediate intervention. Psychiatric emergencies, including suicidality or self-harm, also necessitate higher levels of care. Listening to medical and mental health professionals when they recommend a higher level of care is an important step in protecting health and safety.
Recognizing When to Get Help
Seeking help for an eating disorder can feel daunting, especially in a culture that often normalizes disordered eating behaviors or perpetuates the myth of needing to be "sick enough" to get care. However, eating disorders are serious at every stage, and you do not need to wait for a crisis to pursue recovery.
It’s important to know:
Early intervention matters. The sooner someone starts receiving help, the greater their chances of recovery. Eating disorders are progressive illnesses, and addressing them early can prevent worsening physical and psychological symptoms.
You don’t have to meet any threshold of “severity”. Many people delay seeking treatment because they feel they aren’t "sick enough" or because they don’t look like they have an eating disorder. This belief is both harmful and untrue. Eating disorders can impact anyone, regardless of size, appearance, or how long symptoms have been present. If disordered eating behaviors or negative thoughts about food and your body are interfering with your daily life, it’s time to seek support.
Recovery is for everyone. You are worthy of care even if you can still "function" in other areas of life. The absence of obvious physical symptoms or medical instability does not negate the presence of an eating disorder or the need for support.
Seeking help doesn’t mean losing control. It’s about building a partnership with professionals who respect your lived experience and recovery goals. Through collaboration, you can regain trust in yourself and develop the tools needed to create a sustainable and fulfilling life.
What Eating Disorder Help Can Look Like
Eating disorder treatment does not always begin at a higher level of care. Many people start in outpatient treatment, where they can receive support while continuing daily life. For others, stepping into a higher level of care such as IOP or PHP provides additional structure, meal support, and therapeutic tools without requiring full-time residential care. These programs often help stabilize behaviors and build skills that make outpatient treatment more effective long-term.
Movement between levels of care is common and does not reflect failure. Treatment plans evolve based on changing needs, safety, and support systems.
The Eating Disorder Treatment Team
Recovery is most effective when supported by a multidisciplinary team that addresses the full picture of health.
A treatment team may include:
Doctor (or Primary Care Provider)
Monitors medical stability, addresses complications, and oversees medications when needed.
Therapist
Supports emotional healing, helps process trauma, and teaches coping skills for managing eating disorder thoughts and behaviors.
Dietitian
Guides nutritional rehabilitation, supports regular and adequate eating, rebuilds trust with food, and helps reduce fear around nourishment.
Collaboration among providers ensures that physical, mental, and emotional needs are addressed together. For individuals seeking eating disorder treatment in Maine, working with a team familiar with local resources can be especially helpful.
Eating Disorder Treatment Is Personal — and Recovery Is Possible
Eating disorder treatment is a complex and deeply personal journey. By understanding the levels of care, recognizing when professional help is essential, utilizing accessible tools, and building a strong treatment team, recovery becomes not only possible but empowering. For individuals navigating eating disorder treatment in Maine, the availability of compassionate, multidisciplinary care ensures that healing is a collaborative process that respects the individuality of each person’s experience.
Get Eating Disorder Support with CV Wellbeing
If you or someone you love is struggling with an eating disorder, know that compassionate, individualized support is within reach. At CV Wellbeing, our team of dedicated dietitians understands that recovery isn’t a one-size-fits-all journey—it’s a personal process that honors your unique needs, experiences, and goals. Whether you're exploring outpatient care or need guidance navigating higher levels of support, we’re here to walk alongside you every step of the way. You deserve care that empowers you to heal at your own pace. Our dietitians offer eating disorder nutrition counseling in Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, and more. Reach out today to learn how we can support your recovery journey and help you build a nourishing, sustainable relationship with food and your body.
FAQs about Eating Disorder Treatment in Maine
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Maine offers a variety of eating disorder treatment options, including outpatient nutrition counseling, intensive outpatient programs (IOP), partial hospitalization programs (PHP), and residential treatment. Working with a Maine eating disorder dietitian can be an essential part of recovery, providing medical nutrition therapy and support for healing your relationship with food.
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If food, weight, or body image concerns are affecting your daily life, it may be time to seek help. Common signs include restrictive eating, binge eating, purging, excessive exercise, fear of weight gain, or distress around food. Eating disorder treatment includes specialized dietitians, therapists, and medical providers trained in HAES eating disorder support and recovery.
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An eating disorder dietitian provides individualized medical nutrition therapy for eating disorders, helping clients restore balance with food, navigate hunger cues, and heal their relationship with eating. Dietitians trained in intuitive eating therapy and weight-inclusive care support clients in rebuilding trust with their bodies.
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If you're looking for a Maine eating disorder dietitian, CV Wellbeing offers virtual and in-person nutrition counseling for individuals across Maine. Working with a registered dietitian trained in medical nutrition therapy for eating disorders can help you take the next step in recovery.
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The first step in getting help is reaching out to a healthcare provider, such as a Maine eating disorder dietitian, therapist, or primary care physician. Many providers offer virtual eating disorder treatment in Maine, making it easier to access care from anywhere in the state.